The release of the report comes days after a Cleveland judge issued a statement of probable cause to file criminal charges against the police officers over the 12-year-old’s death.
Tony Dejak / AP
Prosecutors in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday released a Sheriff's investigative report into the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by police in November 2014.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation began investigating the boy's death in January at the request of the Cleveland Division of Police. The department delivered its report on June 3 to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, which said it was releasing the report in the interests of transparency.
"Transparency (i.e., the actual facts) is essential for an intelligent discussion of the important issues raised by this case," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said in a statement. "If we wait years for all litigation to be completed before the citizens are allowed to know what actually happened, we will have squandered our best opportunity to institute needed changes in use of force policy, police training and leadership."
Rice was shot by a Cleveland police officer in a public park while playing with a toy gun on Nov. 22, 2014.
Surveillance video released by police shows officers arriving at Cudell Park, where Rice had been playing.
Mark Duncan / AP
On Thursday, Judge Ronald Adrine of the Cleveland Municipal Court issued a statement of probable cause to file criminal charges against the police officers involved in Rice's death.
At least one of the officers, Timothy Lohemann, could be charged with murder. The other officer, Frank Garmback, could face lesser charges, such as involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and dereliction of duty.
Ultimately, the sheriff's department report and judge's statement of probable cause are independent of the decision to take the case to a grand jury or bring charges: The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office has said its policy is to submit all cases involving the fatal use of deadly force by law enforcement officers to a grand jury for review.
"We are now in the process of reviewing this report and deciding what additional investigation is needed," McGinty said. "That is the way that every significant investigation works: The Sheriff's investigation is a good solid foundation that will support the grand jury's own investigation. Tamir's family, the people of this community and the officers involved deserve nothing less than the most thorough investigation and analysis possible."
"The death of a citizen resulting from the use of deadly force by the police is different from all other cases and deserves a high level of public scrutiny," the prosecutor said. "These cases involve peace officers/public employees whose decision to take a fellow citizen's life must be evaluated to determine, by law, whether the police officer's action was reasonable under the circumstances and therefore justifiable."
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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